Bound Souls
by Sand Ninja Yexis Metallium
Summary: XF Firia has sealed Xelloss to help her in her shop, but she will go insane if he doesn't stop bugging her. So Firia sets off to the library to find a spell that could help her. She got a lot more than she expected... rated T for violence and some romance
1. The Spell Part One

**Disclaimer:** Me no own! Me no OOOOOWN! ToT

_Ahem_ Hello all! And welcome to my first ever fanfiction! _trumpets blare and flags suddenly appear _This story is called "Bound Souls" (no duh) and it's coming out pretty good if I say so myself _looks proud_ Welp! Let meh give ya a quick summary!

'Tis a story about Firia who had sealed Xelloss to be her little servant in the shop. Zelas doesn't care, as long as it doesn't get in the way of his missions. Firia is getting fed up with trying to tame Xelloss, so she tries to find out a way to make him... better...? _ahem_ yeah, it's gonna get longer, with tons more plots leading to others and all that, so hopefully you like it!

OK, with that said, here's BOUND SOULS! _trumpets blare again_

Bound Souls: The Spell Part One (I really stink at names, don't I?)

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Xelloss shat on the bed in the back room of Firia's shop. He listened to Firia yell at a customer.

"100 bronze coins! That's an outrage! This high-quality mace is at least worth 100 silver!" Firia quarreled with the customer.

Xelloss smiled. Firia could be so cute sometimes. He took advantage of the situation and had a small but tasty snack. "Anger always tastes better when coming from Firia," snickered Xelloss to himself.

Xelloss heard the sound of a bell, signaling that he customer left. Firia came storming into the room, hit Xelloss on the head with her mace, and sat down on the opposite side of the bed.

"Ow..." Xelloss mumbled, completely unaware she was going to do that.

He was going to feed off her aura of anger again, but got a growl of warning from Firia when he started. Xelloss sighed. Since when she caught him, put a seal on him, and made him work for her a couple years ago, she could sense when her negative emotions were being absorbed by Xelloss. That is, unless Xelloss was a certain distance from her. He was also used as her little squeeze toy with her mace to get rid of stress.

"Hey, Firia..."

Her answer resulted with another band aid on the head.

"I wish she'd stop doing that," Xelloss thought.

He started to get up to wander about the town, but Firia said a quick, growling "Life is wonderful!" making Xelloss facefault.

"Maybe it's not the best to do anything right now..." Xelloss said, not really talking to anyone.

"I think you're right!" Firia snarled.

Xelloss sighed again and sat down where he was standing in, but quickly got bored. So he decided to annoy Firia for a while.

Making the least noise possible, he teleported behind Firia.

"Boo!" Xelloss whispered in her ear, while lightly touching her shoulder.

Firia whipped around, but Xelloss had teleported to the front of her. She turned back around, only to be greeted with a kiss on the lips.

"IDIOT MAZOKU!" Firia yelled at Xelloss after her initial stun. She started chasing him around the room with her mace, and tried to hit him, but that wasn't successful. Xelloss just floated around the room, and when Firia almost got him, he would just teleport somewhere else in the room.

Firia stopped after a while and sat back down on the bed, trying to calm herself down. Business was going way down in her shop, and it frustrating. Xelloss can live without food, he could just take a bite out of her anger and frustration. She, being a dragon, needed a ton to eat. At least Xelloss was getting the good side of the deal.

"How do I get that dang Mazoku to stay out of trouble?" she asked herself, "What if..."

"What if what?" Xelloss questioned, then retreated a little, expecting to get hit again.

"Xelloss, stay here! And be a good boy while I'm gone!" She patted him on the head and went zooming off to the direction of the library.

"Darn, Firia cheers up too fast now," Xelloss thought to himself, "It's not as fun." He lied on the floor for a few minutes, thinking, and decided to fall asleep for a while to pass the time.

Firia ran down to her town's library. When she went in, she began her short search for the book she was trying to find.

"I checked it out a couple weeks ago... aha! Here it is!" Firia checked out the book and went back to the shop to read it. She remembered there being what she needed to learn in this book... or in the series that the book was in. Hopefully it was in there. She read the table of contents to find what she needed, and to her reilief, she found what she was looking for. It was how to share your soul with a different soul. The two souls would be bound, and they would act as one. The only downfall: If they get hurt, physically or emotionally, you would get hurt as well. But Firia was rather desperate, so she was willing to take that risk. Besides, if the other was killed, the caster wouldn't, because of the style of the spell.

Firia went to the page that the table of contents had said to go to, and she was a little surprised. The spell was incredibly long and confusing, the gestures were complicated, and on top of that, Xelloss might not even approve of the spell. But she had to try. For her own sanity.

She went upstairs to her bedroom and flopped onto her bed, determined to memorize the words. After scanning the words, it was a good thing she was a dragon, because it looked like it would take a lot of magic capacity to cast this spell. But she was having a trouble trying to learn the words, because a certain annoying visitor kept on peeking over her shoulder on the bed, and asking her what she was doing.

"Go away!" Firia yelled at Xelloss. He decided this as a really good time to bug her, so he kept on asking.

"Pleeeeease Firia-chan! What are you doing? Pleeeease tell me!" Xelloss whined.

Firia felt like taking one hair at a time and plucking each one off of Xelloss's head. "I'm memorizing a spell, OK? Will you please go now?" she screamed at him.

Xelloss though for a second, then answered, "No, of course not!"

Firia grumbled, and decided not to hit him on the head for him taking in her anger. She just didn't feel like it at the moment. She groaned and went back to her study of the spell. Once again, someone kept on peeking over her shoulder, this time asking what she wanted to do with the spell.

"Oh yeah, I need to ask you something," Firia said to a confused Xelloss. She never had asked a question of him before.

"Yeeeeees?" he asked, opening his eyes just so he could take a small snack of fear radiating for a split second off of Firia.

"Um- this spell I'm learning-- I need someone to cast it on, and... I wanted to cast it on you," she stumbled out.

"Just because I'm you 'servant', as you call it, it doesn't mean you still have the power to cast a spell on me," Xelloss replied. He looked at Firia's pleading face and smiled. "But how could I refuse a face like that?" he added, suddenly leaning up close and touching Firia's nose with his index finger.

Firia jumped back at his sudden movement. "Don't touch me, namagomi!" she scowled, not daring to look into his still-open eyes. Xelloss snickered and teleported away.

"Stupid Mazoku," she said, trying to force away her smile.

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Hmmm... I don't think this is a cliffy...-.- Oh well, who cares! Please review so I know you're out there, because I won't update until I at least get a COUPLE of reviews! I need to know people are actually reading this before I finish this story...

OK! Things that might be confusing or I just feel like telling!

1. OK! First of all, the money system! Gold coins are worth the most, and are worth about 100 dollars of our money. Next up is silver, worth about 50 dollars, then bronze, worth about ten. There is also lots of very small copper coins that is worth about 1 dollar of our money. Yep, when Firia sells a mace, she gets a lot of profit. (wow, long explanation)

2. I know, Mazoku don't have a need for sleeping, but they can sleep if they're bored to pass the time. Good pastime if you ask me OoO

3. How the heck could Firia seal Xelloss? The answer is: I have absolutely no clue! It just seemed like a good idea to keep Xelloss around the house with Firia, so I used it. It took two seconds to think up!

Also, this might be a short chapter, it might be a long one. I have no clue! As my first chapter being posted anywhere in the whole world, I'm just seeing how long this one will be. I will make the next chapter longer or shorter to make up for this one. If it's long, I'm going to be happy, 'cause this chapter only took 3 pages of my large handwriting on paper! (I will have an idea when it's up though! o )

EEK! One last thing! (yes, I know I write a TON) Since I'm a poor 13 year old trying to make a decent fanfiction, then please tell me about any grammar mistakes, weird sentences... stuff like that. OK! I'm done now!


	2. The Spell Part Two

_sigh_ I didn't expect THIS many reviews in one night! So I updated fast since I have lot of time on my hands. I'm one who likes to get into plots fast, so I'm already getting into the main plot that leads to others! I'm horrible at stalling, but who needs it? That last chapter was three pages of my already more than 50 paged story, and it's not done. Soooooooo, I might have short chapters, but I'll update very very frequently! Spectle spectle!

Onto the next chappie! (with a horrible name!)

Bound Souls: The Spell Part Two

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The next couple days went by veeery veeery slowly. Firia spent the whole day trying to memorize the spell, and whenever she heard the bell ring downstairs, she had to rush down and help them. by the end of the first day she was exausted, and it took longer to memorize the spell. So by the end of the second day, she decided that she would wake up early, study it, then help customers the whole day, then finally at night she would have some really long looking-at-the-spellbook time. So, at the end of the fifth day, she put a bookmark at the page, and practiced the hand gestures without looking at the book. She did very well. With the chant she stumbled, but quickly got those words righted with the book. She was pleased with herself.

But right now it was night, and she was exausted. Thank god it was close day for her tomorrow. She could cast the spell then. But right now, she needed sleep. Firia quickly got dressed into her nightgown, and was knocked out before her head even reached the pillow.

Xelloss quietly teleported back into the shop, being careful not to wake up Firia. He know how grumpy and angry she could get when she was woken up on close days, and as much as he liked her anger, he couldn't feed AND dodge her mace now could he?

He snuck upstairs. Good, still sleeping soundly. Xelloss stepped past her bed so he could get to her book. She must have been exausted last night, because she always locked up the book. He walked over so he could look at it, but first poked it. How ignorant could a dragon get? She didn't even put a sealing charm on it! Xelloss snuck back downstairs again to take a look at the marked page... but the bookmark wasn't in the book. He mentally slapped himself for being so stupid for dropping the thing, and fetched the bookmark. The book wouldn't be of any use to him now, because he didn't even know what page it was on, or the spell title. He could only wait for the spell to be cast in order to see what it was.

Xelloss teleported inside of Firia's room, quickly placed the book, since he saw Firia stirring, and teleported out. Quickly, he went to the kitchen to get some tea. He really wanted some, and might as well get Firia some so she didn't ask her scary questions of why he got himself some and not her, and where his manners were. To tell the truth, they were somewhere else!

Firia came down just in time to see Xelloss pouring himself and her a cup of tea. She slowly walked to the table and picked up the cup, glaring at it.

"You did something to it, didn't you?" she said, looking back and forth from Xelloss's smiling face to the cup. She had a right to ask: It smelled funny.

"Why would I do anything to it Firia-chan? Yours and mine came from the same teapot!" Xelloss answered, still having a smile on his face.

Firia sat down. She didn't want to drain her energy on hating Xelloss right now. She needed all the energy she could get for the spell. It would take a large portion of her magic capacity. She also needed to try to not get angry today. Feeling negative emotions really made her tired.

She involuntarily swished her tail that she could no longer keep hidden due to the conservation of food and days of staying up late and getting up early. This was a sign that Firia was content right now... Xelloss was silently drinking his tea on the other side of the table with his eyes safely closed, the tea was really good, and she felt more refreshed than she had in days.

"I'll be right back," Firia said, standing up so suddenly that the chairs was knocked over. Xelloss spacily nodded, and she ran upstairs.

Xelloss put the two cups and the teapot in the sink. He didn't want to wash them, Firia could. Then he sat on the bed to wait for Firia.

"Xelloss!" Firia yelled from upstairs, "Make this circle!" She threw the book down at him from the railing next to the stairs.

Xelloss caught the book easily and examined the page Firia had marked. A circle with a star that had six points and was 7.45 by 7.45 feet. With a snap of his fingers, there was a glowing version of that circle on the floor. He glanced at it, making sure he had did the circle right, then cursed as he corrected the star from five to six points. He really needed to practice his magic on something really soon. He was making mistakes more often in his magic, and Juuou-sama (did I spell that right?) would not approve of that.

A couple minutes later, Firia came out with a handful of supplies that she would need for the spell. She had Rose Dust, Black Crystals and White Crystals that were not in the slightest bit transparent, and orichalcon. Xelloss was confused about the Black Crystals. They were only used for very powerful Black Magic spells.

"I only need one more thing," Firia said to Xelloss,"and I was hoping you could get it for me. They're the talismans that Lina always carries around. Could you... borrow them from her?"

"My, my Firia-chan, you would go that far to cast this spell? Tsk tsk!" Xelloss scolded with a wag of his finger, "Buuuut... taking it from Lina-san is another thing! This should be fun!" Xelloss laughed, and with a quick wave of his hand that meant 'bye', he teleported off.

When Xelloss disappeared, Firia layed out the supplies. With a random rock she got from outside, she crushed up the crystals and orichalcon, the sprinkled in the Rose Dust. She swirled around the mixture by rotating the bowl, then carefully put the dust on the outline of the star and circle.

Right then, Xelloss was having quite a bit of fun...

"Hello everyone!"

Lina and Co. stopped dead in their tracks. They could reconize that voice anywhere.

"What are you doing here Xelloss?" Lina asked, spinning around quickly and pointing at the comfortably floating Xelloss, "We won't fall for your tricks this time! Every time you're here with us it means trouble."

"Oh Lina-san, I don't have any plans of the sort!" Xelloss innocently said.

"If you don't have any business here, then go!" Zelgadiss snarled. Oh how he HATED that Mazoku!

"But what's wrong with hanging out with some old friends?" Xelloss replied, "Right Gourry?"

Gourry smiled, "Oh, hi Xelloss! What did you say?"

After recovering from a facefault, Xelloss talked again. "Anyways, I just needed to get something that I needed!"

Lina protectively went in front of her friends. "Don't think I don't remember the time with Gourry. You aren't taking anything!"

"Who, me? Why, I would never **dream** of taking **anyone**! I was more interested in... an item that you possess."

After saying that, Xelloss teleported to Lina, taking off one of the talismen off her wrist, and in turn, took the others. Before Lina could say anything, she didn't have any talismen on her.

"Whaa-- XELLOSS! GIVE ME THOSE BACK! Oh... I swear, if you ever show your face here again, then I'll blast you into the Astral Plane with my Ragna Blade!" Lina furiously yelled at the spot where Xelloss last was.

Xelloss was quite near, hidden in a tree right next to the group, and he projected his voice to where it sounded like it was coming from everywhere. "I'll eventually give them back Lina-san, be a good girl until then!" With that said, he teleported back to Firia.

"He is SO going to get it!" Lina fumed.

"Fiiiiiria-chaaaan! I got it!" Xelloss sang, "But I don't understand why you would need such powerful Black Magic items to perform that White Magic spell!"

"Those are optional items that power up the spell and give it tons of strength," Firia explained, "The spell might be White Magic, but can be much more powerful with the Black Crystals and the talismans."

"Oh," Xelloss simply replied.

Firia clipped on the talismans to various parts of her body. She told Xelloss to stand (or sit) in the center of the star, and not to touch the powder. Then she started the spell.

As Xelloss listened, he tried to see what the spell would be by listening to the chant and looking at the gestures. After all, a spell was made by understand its characteristics and power, and putting that information in the chant. When discoveries were made about spells, the information gathered could even be added to a chant, making the spell more powerful.

The spell was indeed powerful, and it had something to do with binding, but the rest Xelloss couldn't understand. So all he could do was sit there and wait. But as he waited, he got a little more nervous about what the spell could be. It could be an attack for all he knew. But it was a binding spell, so probably not that.

Finally, Firia finished off the spell with a "Soul Bind!" and an aura of white light surrounded her. She pointed her hands at Xelloss, who looked terrified, and immediatly the aura surrounding her gathered to her hands and shot like a beam at Xelloss. Xelloss, who was now convinced it was an attack, tried to teleport out of the way, but the spell hit him and he cried out in pain. He was using his Black Magic to try and teleport, and the White Magic that hit him gave him great pain because of that. He couldn't concentrate on teleporting when he was in pain. After a couple seconds though, Xelloss's vision went black, and he fell limply to the ground. Firia went to him and put him on the bed.

"Stupid Mazoku! He tried to teleport and knocked himself out because of it!" she cursed, "That was incredibly dumb of him."

Firia was now really tired, but knew she had to stay up to make vases and maces (it rhymes!) for the customers that custom-ordered. She went to a side room she had stuffed full of arts and crafts things, and zoned out everything that happened around her while she absent-mindly made various orders.

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Hm. I think this chapter turned out OK... the beginning was a little odd when I typed it. Well, I hope you liked this, even though all she did was cast the spell and that's it. I managed to take a page and streeeeeeetch it! A lot! Hopefully this chapter was long enough for you, because this is probably the longest I'll make of these things, because I update every other day. I can type oh so much you know!

_ahem _Yeah! I know the relationships are a BIT far ahead, but I'm not one to have things slow (as you could understand well Hitteh Pitteh) Just to tell you, right now the plot would be down to a K rating, because absolutely nothing bad is happening! But it gets worse a little more on (bad grammar! X.x) You'll just haveta wait and find out what!

**Replies to my reviewers from heaven:**

**Maddy02: **Yes yes... you couldn't, could you? Especially for one that's that short. Well, I don't mind critiques, it's the flames and things I mind. o.o no one shall flame, for my little doll of Hitteh Pitteh shall eat them all!

**Dairokkan: **Oh, I love Xelloss! He's my favorite character! -- a random fact

**Hitteh Pitteh: **Yeah, I finally put something up, and now, that's all I want to do! -.- But for those other people who haven't seen this since it's only been up for a day or two, I'll try to keep my updating down. Also! Let me take this moment for a bit of explaining from your review! First of all, this is YEARS after Try, so yeah, Firia is a good deal along in her relationship with Xelloss (but keep it a secret from him! . ) buuuut not THAT far along... GOD! I need to plan better. So... Lina would be in about her high twenties to low thirties, and... just base everyone elses age off of her. _a long pause _o.o pfft, the first thing, that's all I really needed to explain. OK, update yours soon, and I'll update really fast also, because my chapters are short. And they will stay short. But I will update often. Buuut don't ask me for them to get longer, because they wooooooon't! T.T

**Mistress DragonFlame:** Awwww, oh well. You can't exactly judge a fanfiction by it's first chappie, but there will always be some people out there who don't like this fanfic, hate this pairing, etc. ;.; oh well, but if you try the next chapters, I hope it will make you want to see more!

o.o I give myself too much credit. BAD YEXIS BAD! _slaps herself in the face _I shouldn't make myself be so happy... I'll force myself to be sad FOREVER! And look up to the bad things in life... O.O what if people HATE my fanfiction! I could never live with that! T.T


	3. Aftermath

O.O I swear, Xelloss is haunting me! T.T I'm sorry Xelloss! We'll give you a cookie soon! We promise! (Hitteh Pitteh and me's little inside... reality... don't worry if you're confused!) OK, first, the power goes out for a secondat 8:30 in the morning, making our internet screw up. So later, I FINALLY get on the internet, to find no one else has reviewed T.T and THEN I have troubles with the document. Finally, I'm almost done, then my mom goes to Farmers Market, leaving me off the computer 'till she gets back, which is after our bedtimes! But then (after millions of times changing this stupid paragraph to meet the standards of the incident) my dad comes home and saves the day! I can finally get on the computer, finish up what I need to do, and post this! _pants_ A loooooong night... _yawns_ o 3 -- a little yawny cloud!

Sooooo... _clears throat for the millionth time _Yay! I'm liking this sto--oh yeah... negative negative... O.O _clears throat again_ I... Uh, hate this story! Yes, I do . . Well! With that put aside, let's get into something that I didn't do last chapter on accident! o.o Don't sue me!

**Disclaimer:** Once there was a girl named Yexis, who claimed to everyone that she owned everything in Slayers, even the awsome-possum Xelloss, and FIRIA! But, one day, a mean person spoiled all the fun, and sued Yexis. Yexis was pleaded guilty, and sent to prison! Oh no! This was reality wasn't it! Yexis cried. SHE DIDN'T OWN SLAYERS!

Isn't that an awsome disclaimer? o.o _quickly changes her path of speaking_ I mean! I hate that disclaimer! The worst one I've ever come up with! Oh, I don't like this being negative stuff... Anyways, here's the third chapter of Bound Souls! _Yexis's last-chapter-forgotten trumpets blare_

Bound Souls: A Nothing-is-Happening Chapter that You Still have to Read

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Xelloss slowly woke up from unconciousness, only to be met with extreme pain. Ooooh he would so get Firia back for what she did to him! He had a piercing headache, a stomachache so bad that he felt like he needed to throw up (if Mazoku could even do that) and his whole body was sore, aching, and in pain in general. He rolled over on his bed, even though his whole body complained about it, and sunk his head into the pillow. What the heck had the dragon cast on him! It hurt really bad, whatever the heck it was.

"Oh, Xelloss! Are you finally awake?" Firia anxiously asked.

What was she still doing here? She hits him with a spell that hurt him really badly, and she expects to actually live after doing that? Some dragons were just stupid. No, all dragons were. She had better do some explaining before he ripped all the guts out of her.

"What the heck **was** that spell Firia?" Xelloss demanded, his voice slightly slurred from his head being in the pillow.

"It was a binding spell for souls," Firia answered.

"It was a WHAT!" Xelloss yelled, suddenly sitting up dispite the extreme pain coarsing thoughout his entire body. She had bound souls... with HIM!

"A bind spell, now your soul--" Firia was cut off by Xelloss.

"I know what it is! Why... what the heck were you thinking, binding souls with a Mazoku?" Xelloss hissed. To dragons, that could be fatal! They were pure creatures, and having their soul invaded by one of a Mazoku was very stupid and could cause serious injury.

Firia snorted. "Cause I wanted too," she snapped back.

Xelloss sighed. No use arguing with a stubborn dragon that now had some attitude from the Mazoku part in her soul. This could turn out to be quite interesting... except for the dragon part in his soul. That was probably part of the reason he hurt so much. He flopped down onto the bed to get rid of the pain that was steadily getting worse. As soon as he relaxed, the pain slowed, and now he was only sore.

Firia came over to him and cast a healing spell. He hurt himself badly when trying to teleport from the spell she cast. It ripped a little of his Astral and physical body, which was why it hurt so much. After a while of casting the spell, Firia almost stopped, because the stillness of Xelloss made it look like he was dead. She panicked for a split-second, then remembered that Mazoku didn't breath. She sighed with relief and continued on her healing.

Later, during supper, Firia heard some footsteps stepping on the kitchen tile behind her. She spun around in her chair to find Xelloss looking quite tired. She quickly went to the cabinets.

"I bet some tea will perk you up!" Firia exclaimed, "I'll give you your favorite."

"That would be great!" Xelloss replied, his spirits suddenly rising. He loved the tea Firia made.

Firia smiled about Xelloss's sudden happiness, but didn't comment on it. She hurridly got the teapot ready and heated up some water. Once it was hot enough, she added the tea mixture and let it sit. After sitting down on her chair to wait for the flavor to settle in the pot, she looked at Xelloss, who looked like he needed a good conversation.

"So... the spell hurt?" Firia timidly asked. She hoped he didn't think she attacked him!

"Yeeees, why else would my whole body hurt today?" Xelloss answered.

Firia bit her lip. Xelloss got some attitude from her side of the soul binding, which made her blush slightly in embarassment. "Because you teleported... no, _tried_ to teleport, when I hit you with the spell." Well, at least she knew she was right, judging on the bright blush that Xelloss had.

"O-oh... that... I thought you were attacking me..." Xelloss studdered. He looked down, suddenly being interested in his plate. Firia decided to leave it at that, and got up to get the tea and teacups. She poured Xelloss and herself a cup, then placed the teapot on a hot pad on the table, then gave Xelloss his cup and sat down with her own. After a couple minutes of silence (if you call Xelloss slurping from a cup silence, which made Firia blush in embarassment even more) the door bell rang. Xelloss stood up abrubtly.

"I'll do it," he mumbled.

Firia nodded, and Xelloss went through the bead doorway leading to the separate part of the house used for the shop. A woman was looking around at all the maces the store had in stock, and looked up when she heard the beads rattle.

"Oh hello!" the woman exclaimed, "I'm looking for a mace to give to my boyfriend for his birthday, could you help me pick one? You're a boy, so you should know."

Xelloss nodded, putting on his cheerful mask and hiding how miserable and tired he was. Maybe he would do that sleeping thing again tonight...

"So, what composure, skill, and strength does your boyfriend have?" Xelloss asked.

She laughed. "Composure? Forget about it. Strength? I'd say he's just a normal old person out there when it comes to that. But skill? He's extremely skilled with the mace."

Xelloss, having worked years in the shop, knew the exact mace that the girl would need. It was very good quality, and could have years of use before being replaced or repaired. It was a pretty light mace too, but took more than just an amateur to wield.

Xelloss scanned the shelves full of vases and maces to find the one he was looking for. It was near the corner of the shop on the left hand side of the door. He ran over to it, not teleporting so that he wouldn't scare the customer away, and picked it up. The girl tried it, and smiled happily.

"This is perfect!" she squealed, "How much is it?"

Xelloss looked at the tag on it and winced a little. "It's kind of expencive, 400 gold! Well, it is one of the better quality maces in here."

"Really? That's not so bad," the girl said, running to the counter to pay, "My family lives on a plantation, so we get quite a bit of money."

"Well, OK then, that will be 40 gold, 1 bronze and 5 copper," Xelloss said. The girl gave him money and he looked at it, puzzled. She had given him 70 coins!

"Ma'am? This is way too much."

"Keep the extra! You helped me a ton, and got it done fast too. I'm glad Firia-san finally has a good assistant."

Xelloss just smiled back at the happy girl as she skipped away out of the store. Looking back down at the money, he decided to tell Firia at how much he had gotten. It was quite a bit of money, so she would be very happy for him. He pranced (A/N: Although I can't exactly imagine Xelloss **_prancing_**...) into the back room again and stopped, gasping. In the short time Xelloss had been gone, Firia had gotten into a beautiful white gown with spagetti straps and a design that outline her skinny figure perfectly. She looked up at him when he entered and smiled.

"Hey, Xelloss, I have a lot to catch up with on pottery and stuff, so I was thinking that you could take care of the shop today?" Firia asked, a faint blush on her cheeks, "It would be a really big help, and I heard the conversation from here, and I think you would be a very good assistant."

Xelloss was slightly annoyed that she just got into lounging clothes, assuming he would do it for her, but she also really needed a rest, so he agreed, and went into the shop.

Suddenly, Xelloss got an idea of why business had been going so slow lately. She needed advertisement! He dug into the brown pouch that he always had with him, and got a huge stack of papers and a black pen. He put the stack of papers on the counter, then put an enchantment on them to where what he wrote on one piece of paper, it would automaticly be copied onto the others. Finally, he took up the pen and started writing.

_Are you starting to take up classes on weapons? Do you need protection from the ever-growing amount of bandits? Have a taste for good looking pottery? Then Firia's store Vases and Maces would be the exellent place to go! We have a wide variety of maces that can suit anyone from an amateur to master, and from weak to strong, and in very good quality and condition! The vases are very well made and extremely high in quality. They are so intricate and beautiful, that even the pickiest collector will love them! Both these things are extremely low in price, so come on up to Firia's Vases and Maces now!_

After writing the really corny advertisement, Xelloss put the logo of Vases and Maces on the bottom of the page, and above it, put his and Firia's signature. After being satisfied about how they looked, Xelloss quickly teleported out of the store and posted the advertisements all over the town in less than a minute.

When Xelloss got back, a customer was already there, looking at all the vases Firia had in stock. He heard Xelloss's teleporting noise, and looked at the counter curiously. When all he saw was Xelloss, the customer asumed it was only the beads he had heard, and went back to his browsing. Xelloss, however, was bored, so he decided to have a little fun with the customer. He teleported in front of the man, who jumped back and whimpered in startlement (o.o?)

"Hello! And welcome to Vases and Maces! What can I get for you today?" Xelloss said, getting closer to the man with every word he said. He could taste the uncomfortableness wafting from the man, causing his smile to get even bigger.

"I-I can manage m-myself!" the man studdered, trying to avoid eye contact with Xelloss's now-open eyes.

Xelloss frowned. That wasn't what he wanted. Maybe if he told him his name...

"Well, if you need any help, just call on Firia-chan or me, Xelloss!" he exclaimed. As soon as he told his name, he was bathing in the man's fear that was being directed strait at him. He smiled and teleported back to the counter, then stared at the man to make him even more uncomfortable. You wouldn't be fine (even with being the Xelloss maniac you are) with Xelloss staring at you with his eyes open.

Xelloss was well known around these parts of the world. Almost no one reconized him, but as soon as they heard the name, they would cower in fear of him, or get a huge mob and get their whole village wiped out by him. That sounded very appealing right now.

Soon, the customer left, either from being scared that Xelloss would kill him, or he just didn't find what he was looking for. Xelloss didn't mind though, because he got a good dosage of fear from him.

Xelloss looked up at the sun and saw it was starting to set. Finally, closing time. He got up from the counter and teleported to the door, switching the sign to "closed" and locking the door. Then he yawned, just for the heck of it, and walked over to the bead door and went through them. Firia was just putting in the third and last pot she made today in the kennel, and looked very tired. She set the timer on the kitchen counter to ring in a few hours, then, after patting Xelloss on the head to tell him she knew he was there, warily walked upstairs to get ready for bed. Xelloss was very sore now from teleporting around the town and just staying in his human form all day, so decided to also sleep. Besides, sleeping helped him regain his strength faster, even if Mazoku didn't have to sleep daily like humans. So, after that decided, he jumped onto the bed and was asleep in less than five minutes.

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Wow, are my chapters turning out flakey or what! _sigh_ Oh, well, hoped you liked it anyways... even though nothing really happened... _ahem_ so yeah! Give me some reviews, good things or critiques, but remember, flames will be used to feed my Hitteh Pitteh doll! OoO

Also, if you come across some candy money, DON'T EAT IT! I had some today, and it tasted weird! T.T

**Now for the little responses to the coolest reviewers in the world:**

**Dairokkan: **Yes! They are joins you in your evil laugh NYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! o.o;;;

**Hitteh Pitteh: **O.O;;; OMG! I FORGOT AMERIA! What's wrong with me... and I thought I didn't leave out any characters also... I completely forgot about her! T.T Sorry Miki! _ahem_ SO! Thanks on the revvies! my little word for reviews that I made up three seconds ago... o.o I thought the talisman-taking thingy was a bit... off... but goody if you enjoyed it! Also, you're welcome for the explaination!

**Maddy02: **Ohhhh, ya really mean it? Thanks! huggz I feel all warm and fuzzy inside ;.; And now that I know that you're a hard critiquer, I'll see it coming, and not cry! OoO

**Encyser: EEEK! ** Critiques! _gets her little critique paper and a pen _OK! I'm ready! _reads the reviews_ ... a little more explaining. OK! First of all thanks for the little thing saying it's a good start o.o Yeah... _more fuzzies_ As for the sealing thing, I'm working on it! (kinda o.o;;;) Now for the actual explaining. Firia was just in a bad mood that day, and didn't let Xelloss do anything. Feed off her anger, go anywhere, etc. She never cares, since he has to feed some way or another, but, like I just said, she was in a bad mood! o

And then, there's more to this review response! I understand why you would be confused on that paragraph, so I'll fix it... as soon as I understand how this site works o.o;;; Also, Xelloss's bed is downstairs, but in a separate part on the bottom story. Here is a short description of the house, but since it's a little long, but not really, you don't have to read it. OK, in the front of the house, there is a shop. Behind the counter is a bead-door-thing. You walk though it, which dumps you into the living room of the house. To your left is a staircase leading upstairs, strait ahead and a bit under the stairs is Xelloss's bed, a few feet from the end of the bed is the dining table, then past that is the kitchen. The bathroom (if you must know) is upstair connected to Firia's bedroom.

**Lady Dark Angel: **Yep! Xelloss did get mad (at first) but after a bit, he forgave her (kinda) and helped her (a little).

**Vampire Cuttlefish: **AGH! Don't review as soon as I post the next chapter! T.T Now I had to do this response also... even though I'm dead tired X.x _'tis almost nine _But I'm glad you like it so much! I'm also glad I could meet your expectations (I updated a few seconds before you reviewed, and said to update) Yes! Xelloss is mischivious! _pokes the little mischivious mouse_ Also, you don't get to find out what Soul Bind actually does in chapter three... that will be later. Lastly, I think I did read your fanfiction... but I'll read it again! o.o;;;; And actually review...

Also! Just as a little reminder, my chapters are short, but I update as frequently as I can, which sometimes might be every day! But that's only if I have a lot of time on my hands...


	4. The Beginning of Emotions

Fourth chapter up! Sorry this took a little long for it to get up. The weekend was kind of busy, and I wanted a small break from the hours of typing these things up! Ugh...

Just a small announcement! This fanfiction's next chapter is going to be postponed for just a little while. I'm starting up a oneshot. It's Slayers, and a random idea I thought up. It's going to be a strange oneshot though...

. I've been staring at the screen too long... I'm getting sleepy... ;.;

OK! Now for...

Bound Souls: The Beginning of Emotions

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_He ran through the thick forest, not wanting to gain the attention of others by teleporting. Once he saw the other side, he ran even faster, determined to get to his destination. He ran with the speed only a demon could possess, and he soon saw it: the bandit camp. Forcing to move his legs even faster, he shot through the green grass, pulling clumps of it up with his feet from going so fast. Even though there was no one around, he didn't teleport. Best to save the most of his energy for if there was a fight. He suddenly stopped by the window of a huge building made of stone, not making a single sound while doing it. _

_A spell said in Mazoku lanuage was heard, then an ear-piercing roar. Fearing the worst, he teleported into the building, only to be greeted by a horrible sight._

_The bleeding body of a mangled golden dragon was lying before him. There were cuts inches deep into her flesh all over her body, her wings were ripped and out of shape, one eye was bleeding, and her tail bent in a way that it shouldn't have been. If it weren't for the pink bow on her tail, Xelloss probably would have refused to accept that the dragon in front of him was Firia. _

_He watched in horror as what was supposed to be the head of Firia lifted itself off the ground and twitched a little, making it look like it pained her to smile. Xelloss quickly came up to the dying dragon, but was stopped. Before he could reconize the dark figure of the woman, darkness took him._

Xelloss woke up, sweat covering his body and the blankets off of him, in a messy pile beside the bed. He ran upstairs, but to his horror, nothing was lying in Firia's bed. He jumped from the second story onto the carpet, not bothering to take the stairs, and ran to the kitchen, only to find Firia looking at him with a puzzled look. Xelloss went wide-eyed, then lowered his head in embarassment from the scene. He must have looked stupid, running around the house after a bad dream! He walked over to the chair and sat down in it in defeat. No more sleeping for him!

Firia got down another cup so Xelloss could have some tea, and set it down on the table in front of him. Then she took the teapot and poured some tea into his cup. Instead of smiling and saying thanks, he just looked into the cup with a neutral face.

Firia sat down a minute later with tea in her hands, and sipped from it, waiting for Xelloss to do or say something. But even after ten minutes, he was still there with the same face, just looking into his cup. Firia opened her mouth to say something, but was interupted by an annoyed snort from Xelloss.

"I-it was just a dream... that's it... I'm over reacting by a ton," he mumbled to himself soft enough to where even Firia with her keen hearing couldn't hear him.

"Xelloss?" Firia said.

Xelloss just smiled up at her, shielding his emotions with the cheerful mask, but twitched a bit when another image of the bleeding dragon came into his mind. Firia saw this and raised an eyebrow.

Before she could question him, he said, "I'll open the shop," and teleported away, still with that cheerful smile on his face. Firia shook her head and dumped Xelloss's now-cold tea into the sink, then washed the dishes. She would get whatever was on his mind out of him sometime or another...

Xelloss opened the windows to the shop and switched the closed sign to open. Then he teleported to behind the counter to wait for the first customer. To entertain himself, he took the liberty of torturing a couple rats, but after only a couple minutes of doing this, a couple customers came in. He frowned in annoyance (torturing the rats was pretty fun) and with a snap of his fingers, obliterated the suffering rat, then turned towards the gawking customers. Oh yeah... this was the outer world. They didn't know this kind of magic existed.

Xelloss just smiled at them, and they immediatly went about their business. One of the customers apparently didn't find what they needed and left, but the other found a very good-looking vase, and brought it up to Xelloss, not daring to speak.

"That would be 103 silver and 5 bronze," Xelloss said. Without looking up, the customer gave him the money and scrambled out the door. Xelloss smiled from the breakfast of fear he got from the man, and put the money into the register. Obviously the advertisements were doing what they were supposed to. They hadn't even been open ten minutes, and the third customer was already arriving! At least today wouldn't be slow and boring like the day before.

It didn't take long for the third customer to find what they needed (a mace that was extremely heavy and made with the finest iron, for a hugeifyingful 50 gold coins) and they left, also not saying a word.

The fourth customer was the opposite. She wouldn't stop talking! To top it off, she was a widow, and was flirting with Xelloss. Xelloss found this awfully annoying. But soon, she got bored with Xelloss's nods and "mhm"'s that she got a very simple, small vase for five silver and slowly walked out the door. Xelloss let out a sigh, happy that the woman was finally gone.

Bye the end of the day, a fourth of the shop's stock had been purchased. Xelloss was surprised that the advertising had done that much good, but knew the customers would be cut by more than half the next day. He switched the sign back to 'closed' and marched back up to the counter to count the earnings for today.

It took about half an hour of counting and recounting to get the definate amount of money. There was 653 gold, 89 silver, 462 bronze, and 604 copper. A lot of money for just one day of selling. If this rate kept going, they would be rich in no time! But, the advertising boom went on for a couple days at the most, and they would have more customers than they used to when that was over, but still not very many.

"Firia!"

After a second, Firia came out from the beads. Xelloss had to stop himself from gasping loudly and moved uncomfortably because of his stomach turning upside down. Firia was still in her gown.

Xelloss pointed to the huge piles of money that was now back in the register, and making Firia gape when she saw it.

"How much is there?" Firia asked excitedly.

"653 gold, 89 silver, 462 bronze, and 604 copper," Xelloss replied.

Firia didn't know what to say. One part of her mind was saying to go balistic and hug Xelloss, but the other side just wanted to say thank you. But luckily, Xelloss took the silence and gaping as a good sign and smiled.

"Soooo... what are you going to do with the money?" Xelloss asked.

Firia truely didn't know. She just wanted enough money to get them by with food (and tea), but had never planned what she would do with the remaining money. She had plenty of clothes, the house was already paid for, nothing needed to be refurnished or mended, and the garden in the small backyard was doing fine.

"I don't know," Firia answered, kind of embarrassed.

Xelloss frowned a little, but kept it hidden. Of course she didn't plan ahead, she was a dragon! "Why don't I go out and get some food for you?" Xelloss offered, "I'm bored."

Firia smiled. "Sure!"

Xelloss took a gold coin and a few of the others, then teleported of after saying a quick "See ya!" When he teleported away, Firia clambered upstairs and flopped onto the bed. Then she took out the spell book from the library and went to the bookmarked page. She had been reading through the book again, and this time happened to be on the Soul Bind spell. Even though she had cast it, thus gained a complete understanding of the spell, she read the passage anyways.

_Soul Bind is an extremely powerful spell that binds the souls of two creatures into one. The two are then unseparable, and any pain one or the other gain is shared. With this spell, the personalities are combined, each gaining the other's habits, skills, purity, evilness, and anything else that is linked with the personality. _

_Caution: Any physical pain or wounds felt by one is then shared with the other. If you get hurt in any way, the other is hurt in that way also, and vise-versa. But, if they die, the caster will be left alive. Also, creatures sharing the opposite soul should not use this. (black should not cast this on white, nor white on black) This can cause serious injury or death from one's soul being clashed with the opposite._

Firia skipped the directions for casting the spell and went onto the next section: How to make Potions. Firia suddenly lost interest in her book and placed the bookmark, then snapped it shut. She placed it on her nightstand with a sigh, then hobbled back down the stairs. She was just in time to see Xelloss teleport into the kitchen with a handful of bags full of food, and put them on the counter.

"There ya go Firia-chan!" Xelloss said happily, as if he was extremely proud of himself for getting the food, "You can put them away!" With that, he teleported to who knows where, leaving Firia to put away all the groceries. She put them in the cabinets and pantry, then went back into her craft room to fit in a couple more maces to put in stock before she went to bed.

After setting down the bags, Xelloss had teleported on top of the roof to do a little thinking. These emotions he had throughout the day were confusing him, for he had never had them before. One was the churning in his stomach every time Firia suddenly came into view or touched him. Then there was him not taking as much interest in feeding off of negative emotions, or not having as much fun tormenting the rats. He was also being much nicer to Firia. He got groceries for her, ran the shop, and was being a little more polite.

It must have been the spell. Firia's personality of a happy, polite dragon was making him nicer. Just the thought made him shudder a little. Him, having his soul bound eternally with a dragon, of all creatures. He would rather be bound to a slug! He sighed. Well maybe not a slug...

Sure, he found this new... personality... interesting, but having it forever? That would stink. He sighed once more. He would take a walk for the rest of the night to clear his mind. He didn't want to sleep again.

Xelloss slipped off the roof and landed on the ground (wow, a two story drop) then walked off down the stone road. Yep, a ten hour walk in the freezing air was just what he needed. He would probably discover a few of his new emotions on the way, too. That would be nice.

Xelloss reached the end of the small town and continued to walk into the woods that was only a couple hundred feet away. When he got inside the shelter of the trees, a harsh, cold wind that was freezing enough to make an icicle out of a lesser demon came in from the north, making Xelloss shiver. Winter wasn't too far ahead, and soon the shops would be full of people trying to find the heat that their house didn't provide. Xelloss loved that time of year, where the suffering of cold people lingered around the rooms all around the clock.

Because of the cold, Xelloss materialized a coat to protect him, and, now feeling much better, continued on his way through the woods.

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I don't think that chapter came out well either. It took me quite a while to type too... oh well (hey, I'm being negative without even trying! OoO) Well, even though I thought it was alright, I hope you like it! The very beginning I though was corny too...

Now, for a couple explanations. Nothing much.

1. Xelloss can now feel positive emotions, due to the spell. He is not pure evil now! Please don't review about that, otherwise... I don't know ;o;

2. Yes! A coat for Xelloss! The reason he was cold is because all creatures have to get cold sometime or another! His 'clothes' didn't provide any protection from the wind, because the clothes are a part of him. So, if the clothes get cold, he does. That coat was a real coat, so it protected him from the wind.

**Time for the response to the reviewers! 'Tis an awsome section...**

**Dairokkan: **Wow... that would get annoying! And it would make me feel very uncomfortable...

**Hitteh Pitteh: **Sorry I didn't update soon enough! I got a good yelling from you... ;.; it's so nice that at least my friend likes my story...

**Dragon-Stiel: **Wow, long review... Ok! First of all, I found a reason for Xelloss being sealed! Firia needed a good assistant, because Gravos and Jirras weren't doing well at all. So she used magic to catch Xelloss, (which wasn't easy, but it was possible, because she's a dragon), and seal him to do her basic bidding (i.e. staying around the house, not teleporting out of town unless she gave him permission, etc.). Xelloss didn't really want to have the spell cast on him, but because he felt like being nice at the moment, he said yes. As for the paragraph, I fixed it to (I hope) be understood better. Please tell me if it is, or if I should fix it up some more! Yes, I know he got over that quickly, but remember, he WAS going to at least torment her a ton, but to me, I think that part where he gave up came out pretty well. Lastly, I know it's not the best out there, but I'll get better (at least, I really hope I get better) and I'm glad you think it's good!

**Encyser: **Well, it's kinda like that, but the spell gave the traits (the slurping the tea for Xelloss, Firia having more attitude, etc.) of one of them to the other. If your soul is white, then yeah, you would become more mean and stuck-up if your soul was invaded by one of a Mazoku! Also, about the explaination, the spell will make more sense in later chapters, like the caution and stuff like that. Oh, and feel free to proof my work! That would be awsome!

**Maddy02: **Thanks! I don't know where I got this idea, but it's nice to know that someone thinks it's interesting!


	5. Vases, Maces, and Xelloss

GOMENASAAAAAAI! _repeatedly apologizes_ I'm SOOOO sorry this didn't go up as soon as you guys wanted it to! To hopefully lower the bashings I get, let meh tell ya three reasons why this update took so long! (And it's a short chapter)

1) This week was sooooo crammed! (kinda) I worked on it (a little) but I couldn't get to it very much (maybe)

2) It took two days to write the first chapter of my Spirited Away fanfic! That's a good reason... for two of the days...

3) I was just plain lazy! I play on Runescape too, so my friends want me on, I might be playing on Ragnarok soon (if my stupid computer full of viruses will allow it to load, and it doesn't take SIX HOURS TO DOWNLOAD) AND I have school. Wow, school. And homework.

SEE! I kinda had a busy week!... and... week before that! Oh my, it's been that long...

**Disclaimer: **There once was a (lazy) person named Yexis. She loved Slayers! In fact, she loved Slayers so much that... THE PEOPLE GAVE THE COMPANY TO HER! But then, Yexis woke up and faced reality. She didn't own Slayers... Yexis doesn't like her real life...

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In the morning, Firia woke up being extremely cold, but she couldn't understand why. Her thick covers were over her, and the bed felt warm... she was just really really cold! She sighed. Dragons had to mate sometime, and this was probably a side effect of not mating.

Firia clambered down the stairs and called for Xelloss. After waiting about a minute, he still wasn't there. Firia shrugged, knowing he must have gone for a walk, and made herself tea and muffins. As she waited for the tea to heat up and the muffins to bake, she called Xelloss again. She waited for a few seconds, then turned her head when she heard the familiar teleporting sound. Xelloss was there with a jacket wrapped tightly around his body. He threw the jacket over a chair, mumbled something about the house being really warm, then sat in a chair to wait for tea. Firia looked him over carefully, trying to find out why she was still so cold. If the house and her bed were warm, then Xelloss must be cold, causing her to be. She quickly found her answer by seeing ice clinging to Xelloss's gloves and jacket, then turned to pour themselves some tea. That would help to warm them.

When Firia put the cup in front of Xelloss, he drank it eagerly. Almost immediatly after Xelloss taking a sip, Firia felt much warmer. She too then sat down, and drank, only getting up to get the muffins out of the oven. She wanted to freeze them the night before, because frozen poppyseed muffins tasted really good, but right now all she wanted to do was get warm. So, she set the tray in the middle of the table and took a muffin.

After an hour of eating and silence, Firia got up and walked out to set up the shop. Xelloss heard as she opened the blinds, raised them, opened the windows, and even the clank of metal against glass as Firia put the closed sign to 'open'. Without saying a word to Firia, or even putting his dishes in the sink, Xelloss got up from the table and headed to the craft room. There, he took a lump of iron, a hammer, and a stick of ironwood, then started hammering the iron.

While she was looking over the shop, Firia heard clanking sounds. Puzzled, she locked the door, took the sign off the door, then went into the back part of the shop. She didn't see anything, but still heard the clanking sound of metal on metal. She walked over to the craft room, then smiled and giggled softly when she saw Xelloss making a mace.

"Hello Firia-chan," Xelloss mumbled, obviously absorbed in his work. The pounding finally stopped when Xelloss put down the hammer and started attaching the spikes onto the mace with magic.

Firia said a hello back, then watched as Xelloss put on the last spike, then took the piece of ironwood and attached that onto the bottom of the mace, securing it with magic.

When he finally finished, Firia asked, "Why did you want to make a mace?"

Xelloss shrugged, put the mace down, then picked up a lump of clay. Seeing this as a good opportunity, Firia gave him a list.

"It would be a huge help if you could get a couple of these done," Firia said, then added quickly, "For other people of course." Xelloss was tricky sometimes, and he might claim the vases for himself. Xelloss nodded and started making the vases, starting with an order of a tall, skinny red vase that had a picture of a waterfall wrapped around it.

To make sure she had chosen the right person to do the vases, Firia picked up the mace and was immediatly impressed. The mace was incredibly light- light enough for a small child to use- and was extremely durable. He had made the mace able to last 1000 years of use without it breaking with a spell, and it was made in such a way that no one but Firia, who was very skilled in mace fighting, could use it. It might be light, therefore not having the ability to crush people, but you could strike at someone so fast, that you could break through their sword and bones in a single swipe.

She put the mace back down on the anvil, then watched in wonder as Xelloss controlled and centered the vase perfectly. He was as good-- well, almost as good-- as herself! I guess a thousand years of practice could do that to you.

Confident that Xelloss could do well by himself, Firia turned and walked away, taking the newly made mace with her to examine to pass the time. She set the mace on the counter, unlocked the door, then put the sign back on the door. Then she waited, looked at the mace, and helped customers throughout the whole entire day.

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Firia slumped off the chair behind the counter and closed shop. After shutting the blinds, she trodded through the beads and sighed. She really wanted to go to bed, but she had dinner to make, the house to clean up, and Xelloss to look after!

"I wonder how many vases Xelloss made before getting bored," Firia wondered aloud. She walked into the craft room and squeaked with surprise.

Xelloss had made the whole list worth of vases, then somehow got a hold of the mace list and made those too. Vases and maces littered the floor to such an extent that Firia had to clear a way in order to walk to Xelloss. He was just finishing the last mace.

"Xelloss... how did you--- what--- how did you do all this?" Firia studdered. She had never made that many vases OR maces in one day, let alone that much of both!

"I was bored," Xelloss simply replied, not bothering to look up.

Firia was overjoyed. He had made all the customers' orders within one day. That was an extreme help to Firia, especially because she was falling behind in the crafting. She couldn't help but hug Xelloss.

"Thank you SOOOO much! This helped out a ton!" Firia said after hugging the dazed Xelloss. Then she skipped away to make dinner for them both. Xelloss shook his head, then went back to the mace. "I was just bored..." he said to himself.

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Wow. EXTREMELY short chapter alert! I will make sure to update faster next time... of course, Hitteh Pitteh might not believe meh, since I've said "I'll update today" for the past week. But this time I kept my promise! _nods vigorously _(I don't know if I used that word right o.o;;;) SO! I'll update before my other fic this time, but then I update that, which puts this aside about a week after I put one more chapter up.

Oh, and if you have seen Spirited Away and like the fanfictions about it, then please check out mine! C/H, and it's called Forest Slave. It's an alternate ending too! Actually, another plot that built off the end of the movie...

**Hey look! Reveiws... and responses to them!**

**Hitteh Pitteh: **Uhh... where to start... OK! Ameria shall come in later chapters! I promise! I double-wouble pwomise! I know, I ABSOLUTELY HATED Xelloss's dream. But, everybody loves dreams, so even though I hated it, I put it in. An answer to your question! Since Xelloss caused the pain during the spell, Firia didn't feel it, because the soreness was due to the teleporting during the spell. Yesh, 'tis true ('tis is the craze ya know) lol, didn't go up to your expectations for less than a week, huh? Oh well. I guess I can't make any promises to NEXT time I update either, cause I have no idea, and you won't believe meh anyways. Thanks for the awsome-possum review, and hope you update soon, cause I'll try!

**Dairokkan: **o.o oh my... hyperness... _ahem_ anyways, Xelloss MIGHT be falling for Firia... Oh come on, he is! Otherwise this wouldn't be a X/F fanfiction! Gosh... some people... jk


	6. Curses and Charms

Oh my... wonderness of wonderful! Finally, another chapter! This time, I have an actual excuse!

1) Yep, I was lazy again... for two days only though! I promise!

2) My days were FULL, like, I couldn't get on the computer for a minute, for three days strait!

3) And finally, I had to get this proofed. That ended up being a mess. So that took a few days, too!

Also, I decided to change my pen name! It's Sand Ninja Yexis Metallium, but if doing reviewers responses, then Sand Ninja Yexis, Yexis Metallium, or anything else is fine. I don't really care.

**Oh, and the fun disclaimer! _goes and sits in a corner, sulking_: **_Judge pounds a mallet on the desk _I plead this innocent person GUILTY of not owning Slayers!

Bound Souls: Curses and Charms

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After waking up, Firia stretched, then dressed into her normal attire. She was just about to go down to open shop, but then noticed that the sun wasn't even up yet. So, since she hadn't done so for a long while, Firia took up her mace and went downstairs to practice.

Firia did various stances, starting very slow, then sped up gradually. When she stopped after half an hour of doing speedy stances and poses, she was surprised to find that she wasn't breaking a sweat, nor was she breathing heavily. So, after a minute's rest, she did another round. This time she went even faster, and did more complex and graceful poses. Her flexablity had also heightened, for she was able to do poses that she had knew before, but could never accomplish due to her inability to stretch. She kept this up for another half an hour, and could have kept on going if the sun hadn't caught her attention.

"Eek! I'm late opening!" Firia shrieked, momentarily forgetting her newfound abilities. She ran upstairs, quickly dropped her mace on her bed-- she would put it away later-- then scrambled back down the stairs and opened up the shop just in time for the first customer.

Firia watched as a boy gazed at all the maces with a sack of money in his hand. He took down several maces, surprised at how heavy they were in contrast to his young muscles, but put them all back, obviously dissatisfied.

"Do you need help?" Firia asked politely.

"Yeah! My big brother's birthday is coming up tomorrow, and I forgot to get him a present," the boy replied, "but I don't know which mace to get him!"

"How skilled is he? And how strong?" Firia questioned.

"He's 16 and has been practicing almost his whole life, and he's really strong!"

Having all this come from the mouth of an 6-year old was cute, but a bit unbelievable. So Firia picked out a mace that was not the best quality-- the hammer accidentally slipped while she was making it-- but was average in weight. This would be perfect for a teenager with a few years of practice to wield.

"Would this be a good present?" Firia charmingly asked.

The little boy took the mace from her hands and gaped as his arms sagged from the weight. "This is heavy!" he exclaimed. Firia giggled, unable to resist the cuteness.

She took the mace from him and set it on the counter. "How much money do you have?"

"My mommy and daddy gave me 100 gold coins! Isn't that a lot?" the boy bragged.

"Oh, yes! It is!" Firia over-exageratingly replied, "That's a lot of money!" Then, curious, she asked, "What's your name?"

The boy grinned proudly, liking that an adult was being so entertaining. "My name's Kurai!" he said.

"Well Kurai, how about I give you a ten-gold discount? That's a special thing, because you're the ONLY one I've done it to!" Firia said, being over-exageratingly happy again. She really liked this boy. He was very polite, and not to mention really cute!

Kurai beamed, and asked, "So how much would it be?"

"Hmmm... how about 30 gold and 5 silver? Do you have silver?"

"Yeah! Bronze and copper too!"

"OK then, do you know how to count money?"

That stumped Kurai. "Ummm... no, I never learned that."

Firia walked out from behind the counter and bent down, taking the pouch. Kurai started to complain, but decided against it, knowing she would give it back.

Firia pointed to the gold coins. "These are gold, and are worth the most. How far can you count?"

"To 100, but I don't know more than that," Kurai replied.

"Good! Now, these are silver... bronze... and copper. Now all you have to do when I say 30 gold is to count 30 of the little gold pieces... good. Now five silver... perfect! That's all you need to do!"

Kurai laughed. It was fun to learn something new that was fun, like money! "Oh, and what's your name?"

"My name's Firia," she replied.

"Firia... that's a nice name!"

After a pause, Firia thought that Kurai would be impressed by her being a dragon. "Hey Kurai... do you like dragons?"

It took him not even a second to answer. "Yeah! It's my favorite animal!" Then he thought for a second. "... Why?"

"Because guess what?" she paused, building suspense, "I'm a dragon."

A huge grin formed on Kurai's face. "REALLY! Do you have a tail!" he yelled, spinning on his heel and going behind Firia. He yelped in surprise when she suddenly let her dragon tail appear.

"You're a GOLD dragon! That's my favorite kind of dragon! They're really strong!" Kurai wrung his hands, being excited, but a little nervous. Golden dragons WERE powerful after all.

"Do you just have a tail, or are you all dragon? Can you transform? What kind of magic do you do? How powerful of spells can you cast?" The questions were never-ending.

"Oh, I'm really powerful," then she whispered in his ear, "I've even captured a Mazoku." She giggled again by the awestruck face that the boy had.

"I'm gonna tell Mommy that I saw a REAL dragon! Won't she be surprised!" Kurai squealed in delight. He hurried up to the counter to pay for the mace, wiggling in excitment all the while. He took out 30 gold coins and 5 silver from his bag, took the mace, then ran out the door.

Firia laughed. "I wonder what Kurai's parents will think when they see he has come home from shopping with a curse on him!"

While frequently giggling, Firia made her way up to the counter and waited for the next customer.

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Xelloss smiled, and continued listening to Firia. Her, setting a curse on a 6 year old boy? Who would have thought? He snickered, knowing that was the exact thing that he would do. He quickly went back to listening; now that there was another customer. What would she do next?

"I am shopping for a vase for myself, and I heard you had the only mace and vase shop in town, but you're expencive," the teenage-looking girl said to Firia, not bothering to turn around from looking at the variety of vases. She frequently picked up interesting looking vases, but every time she picked one up, she would eventually set it back down, being careful not to scratch or crack the vase.

"And what sort of things do you like?" Firia asked, wondering what to do with this customer. Another eye, or mutating her in some other way, making her totally embarrassed later today with some kind of spell... lots of choices.

The girl shrugged, and continued looking at the vases. Then Firia grinned. She knew EXACTLY what to do.

"Your hair is beautiful! I would love to have that kind of copper hair!" Firia exclaimed.

The girl beamed. "Isn't it? It's a natural color too!"

"Really? Well, you're very lucky. Anyways, is there anything you would like to buy?" When the girl shook her head, Firia sighed heavily. "Oh well, not EVERYONE finds what they're looking for... Well, see you!" the girl frowned, obviously confused, then left the shop, but not before Firia put a small charm on her.

"Having fun?" Xelloss asked suddenly, emerging from the beads into the shop. Firia blushed.

"Yeah..." she mumbled, being rather embarrassed from enjoying all this.

"Don't be ashamed! I know what you mean!" Xelloss said, leaning a little closer to Firia.

With a flick of her hand a mumbling of words, Firia made a small spell. Xelloss yelped right after her casting it.

"What was that for!" Xelloss yelled. He was just trying to get Firia annoyed!

"For annoying me." Well, he succeeded in that.

"You didn't have to burn me," Xelloss sulked, turning around and trotting back behind the safety of the beads.

"Wow, this is fun," Firia smirked. She was going to enjoy this.

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Wow! Another week. Or two. I don't know, I lost track! That 'probly means I took a long time...

Hm. Not much to say at all, so why don't I just go to

**The awsome-possum-wossum-pokasum-bodasum reviewers' responses!**

**Hitteh Pitteh: **Well, I guess this chapter answers you question about Firia! And you don't have to beg me to write more. I'm going to finish this story, but it's just going to take some time to actually write the things. Yeah.

**Encyser: **The Mace and Vase machine... I should make that one day o.o;;; Another person whose questions are answered in this chapter! Am I good or what!

**Lady Dark Angel: **Well... yeah. Bored. That's probably my most famous excuse for these types of things with Xelloss. He was bored.

**Cyberimp6: **Wow... more critiques _writes down the quibble on her notepad _But like I said, I'm a poor 13 year old. Things like "She spent the whole entire day" sounds just fine to me! But I see what you're saying. Also, I'm really bad at having effects like this take place in the same chapter. This is my first extremely big story. So... that explains a lot.

**Laharl The Overlord: **O.O Wha--- _ahem_ Well, thanks! I think. I don't quite know what that thing at the beginning means...

I like the idea of the boy getting hurt and Xelloss healing him! I had something else planned, but... that will just go along with the story better. Yeah. So I'll use it. I'm too lazy to look at the reviews, so... thanks to the one that gave that idea! o.o;;;


	7. A Feeling?

Wow…. Stressful day today. It's a looooong story, so don't ask. OK, as promised, here is the next chapter of Bound Souls. This should be better grammar-wise, because I finally installed Microsoft Word, and I have a proofer. I'll also be able to view my progress each day. . Thank god….

**Disclaimer: **Who would be THAT stupid to think that I owned Slayers, of all anime's!

Bound Souls: -----

What the heck was she DOING cursing every other first, second and third person that came into her shop? Firia sighed and flopped onto Xelloss's bed face first. What was wrong with her? One day she heals any little scratch or bruise that a kid gets from falling down, the next, she was cursing them! Did Xelloss usually do that? If he did, then he was to get a good beating.

Speaking of which, where was Xelloss? Most likely just taking a little walk in the forest nearby, but he usually told her first to avoid what was supposed to always be a good beating (she usually missed). Aw well, she hadn't hurt him for a long time. It's always a good thing for Xelloss to get a beating from her mace once in a while. Not to mention how fun it was.

Firia rolled off the couch, pulling the blankets off with her. The scent was good. It smelled just like Xelloss…..

Uh-uh. Shouldn't be thinking of that. She should be thinking about the shop you're taking care of! Not of Xelloss, where he is, what he sme—OK, let's just get working on dinner.

She got up and made the bed again, then walked quickly into the kitchen. Then she got water and put it in a pot, and started putting in all kinds of meats and vegetables. When all it needed to do was cook, she set down a teapot on the stove and made tea.

A few minutes later, the tea was hot enough to drink. She called Xelloss, got a cup for herself and him, then poured the tea and sat down right as he teleported in. He uttered a small thanks, then sat down and silently sipped at the tea.

Firia was bewildered at the obvious confusion and….. sadness….? That was emanating off of Xelloss. He seemed really bothered about something, although Firia wasn't too sure she should ask him what was making him upset right at this moment.

"Firia…" Xelloss whispered so silently that Firia almost couldn't hear, "W—what's love?"

Questions and assumptions quickly buried themselves in Firia's head. "Well… Love is a feeling of passion, when you have a very strong liking towards someone. You would like them very much, and would do anything for them… and there are other meanings too… but I shouldn't get into that."

"Ah. OK," was his simple reply. That also surprised Firia. Usually he would poke and prod at her until she let out the other meaning. Now he was just leaving her alone. Also, not only did she feel confusion and sadness, she felt anger, betrayal, and all other kinds of negative emotions, most of which she didn't even recognize. The sadness was now just a speck compared to all the other emotions, and confusion a mountain.

"Why do you ask?" dared Firia. She was taking a risk at having her head blown off, but to hear the answer, so be it.

Xelloss immediately tensed. The negative emotions got stronger, and he was silent for several minutes. But finally he spoke.

"Do you dare ask, Firia? If I do say, then you'd probably kick me out."

"Why would I? They are feelings, no more," Firia answered back.

Xelloss laughed, sending a chill down Firia's spine. "Just feelings? Feelings are what make the difference between you and me, between black a white, just and unjust, dark and light. Just feelings you say? Might as well say 'Just the world'."

Firia scowled. He was being literal right now, and she didn't like it! Now she would have to squeeze the answer out of him. Maybe a mace would do that... Naw. Just pressure would do the trick. Or just ask him.

"Are you asking this because you feel that way?" Firia asked, doubting her own words. Why would Xelloss love anyone?

Xelloss blushed bright red, a stunt that Firia didn't even think possible for a Mazoku. "S-sore wa, himitsu desu!" Xelloss stuttered, wagging his finger back and forth. Firia facefaulted.

After regaining her posture again, Firia quizzed, "So that's how things are going to be, huh?"

Xelloss immediately sweatdropped, then put on a cheerful mask and floated in the air. "Yep Firia-kun, that's how things are gonna be!" Then he teleported away. Firia couldn't take it anymore. She fell on the floor laughing.

"Xelloss, you're going to get the ultimate bothering when you get back!" Firia managed to yell between her bursts of giggles.

Yep. Xelloss was confused. He thought she would break out into a fit then start stomping around the house looking for him, but instead when he teleported upstairs, she starts laughing! Now that was scary. Very un-Firia like. Deciding that this wasn't very fun anymore, Xelloss teleported onto the streets outside Firia's shop.

Wow, he hadn't had any negative emotions for several days! Xelloss was surprised that he wasn't staggering along the ground, limping every step, all that fun weakness stuff. In fact, he felt just fine! What was wrong with that? Just in case he was getting weak and somehow didn't know it, Xelloss slipped into a restaurant and sat down at a table. A waitress soon came to him (more like ran with a huge blush on her cheeks), and took his order.

"Just water," Xelloss said. Then the waitress ran off to get his glass--still blushing. Xelloss sighed. Humans were so ridiculous. He could feel the positive emotions coming off that woman even though she was all the way in the kitchen! How unrealistic could a woman get?

When the waitress—her name was Lucy—came back, Xelloss took the glass from her, then to make her mad, or at least irritated, faked dropping it. With a huge crash, the glass shattered on the floor. Lucy shrieked.

"I'm so sorry!" she squealed, "I'll get you another glass right away!" Then she scurried off again, leaving Xelloss with huge gloom lines floating above his head. Did she even know that he was the one who dropped it?

A minute later, Lucy came back with another glass of water. This time, even though Xelloss reached out for it, she set it on the table. Then, just for the heck of it, Xelloss took some powder out of his pouch and sprinkled it in his water, with Lucy watching intently. Within seconds, the water was steaming, and it had taken on a brown color. Lucy clapped her hands, obviously amused.

"You changed it into hot chocolate! Amazing!" she exclaimed. Now everyone in the restaurant was looking at her and Xelloss. "I must know your name!"

Finally, he could get a full meal, maybe even more! "Xelloss," he replied, saying it loud enough to where almost everyone could hear. Immediately he was bathing in waves of fear.

Lucy stepped back. "T-the Xelloss?" she asked. Xelloss smiled wickedly. All the negative emotions… were OK. For some reason, he didn't seem to be enjoying them as much as he used to. Xelloss sighed and put on a neutral mask.

"No, not the Xelloss… just an ordinary Xelloss," he said, taking a sip of the hot chocolate. The fear died down.

"Oh, good, sorry about that." Lucy visually relaxed, then walked away. He still sensed some positive emotions for him from her, but they definatly weren't as strong.

After taking another sip from his hot chocolate, he lay back in his seat, crossed his arms behind his head, put one leg on his other, and searched for random positive emotions around the restaurant. He wanted to see if what he thought was true.

The first emotion he came upon was love. Love… it was so powerful, that he had to draw back a little from its power. He made a note that this was probably the most powerful of the positive emotions, and to tell Juuou-Sama how powerful it was. He tore away from love and then searched again. Next was friendship. Mixed in it was jealousy, contentness, and even anger and hate. He bathed in that emotion for a little while, but it didn't suit his taste. He had to find something more powerful.

Then he came to a boy that was with one of his friends. Sitting across from him was a fair girl. Out of this boy was neither friendship nor love, but an elementary school crush. Far less power than love, but much more than friendship, and a lot more pure. Xelloss loved it. He loved the pureness of it, the feeling, the taste. If this was what love was like, but more powerful, then bring it on.

Suddenly, a huge pain shot through Xelloss's body, and made him silently yelp. Thinking by instinct that he was being attacked, he teleported out of town. He felt horrible, as if he had been doing a full body exercise too long, or he had done a spell much too powerful for him. Even though Mazoku didn't breathe, he was gasping with pain.

"What happened?" he wondered aloud.

A little distance away, a particular dragon howled, and fell on her bed, writhing in pain.

Well, a bit short, but… oh well. Tells how Xelloss feels, but he doesn't give it away to Firia yet! Also… he has discovered a new snack! You'll find the meaning of his pain in the next chapter… muahahahahahahaha

**Skiddldee-dum awesome reviewers' responses:**

**Hitteh Pitteh: **ACK! This isn't her actual personality! Her mind is just getting used to the new personality. Kinda like how Xelloss went overboard with the maces and vases (it roimes!) Firia went a bit overboard with the cursing. Yep, just like that. This is not going to be Firia's personality throughout the whole story. It'll get more… justicey-like.

**Encyser: **Yep! Already know your reviews! Oh, and you'll find that I have many less spelling mistakes, because I now finally have Microsoft Word! (It's a copyrighted name ya know.)

**Maddy02: **Actually, I'm not going anywhere with that! And I don't wanna explain the whole personality thing again… just look at the response to Hitteh Pitteh!

Wow! I wonder why the number of reviews I'm getting is going down. They should be going up! Aw well. If you read, please review, 'cause it makes me all fuzzy inside! (An exception to Raider, you can just IM meh!)


	8. Making Firia Happy

Oh. My. GOD! I'm sorry! I really have to get off my lazy but and UPDATE, don't I? Don't worry, I will NOT abandon this story, I will eventually update every time. Next time I'll be faster, I promise! (I enjoyed the luxury of not updating for a long time, though!)

**Disclaimer:** Yep. No own.

Bound Souls: Making Firia Happy

Firia couldn't believe it. Why had her whole body just suddenly freaked out? There she was, doing dishes after she had eaten dinner. At first it was just a little throb, but after a little while, her body had hurt badly. It wasn't a pain that gradually got this racking, but it suddenly hurt. And she had broken a plate because of it too!

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There was only one explanation for this. Xelloss. Wherever he was, he had gotten hurt. If it was a fight, good thing he hadn't kept on fighting, otherwise… Well, she wouldn't be able to do anything because of the pain. Hopefully he was alright, because she couldn't look for him right now, not when her body was in this state.

She pushed herself up into a standing position with much effort, only to fall back down again, trembling. She couldn't hold her own weight, it hurt that badly! What did the namagomi do? Again Firia pushed herself up, then grabbed a hold of the counter and hobbled around the kitchen to Xelloss's bed, then collapsed, just missing it. Not only was Xelloss hurt, but he was weak.

With tremendous effort and a lot of time, Firia made it to her stairs, up them, and then to her bed. She then pulled her cloak, boots, gloves, earrings, and headband off---which took a lot of time and energy--- and not even bothering to get into her night clothes, went to sleep, despite all the pain.

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"Finally," Xelloss panted as he staggered up the steps to the vase and mace shop. He pulled on the door… and it opened. Xelloss winced. Firia must have been very pained and weak to leave the shop unlocked.

After lots of thinking and the pain never dulling, Xelloss finally figured out a possible answer to why his body erupted in pain. He was still part Mazoku, so still needed negative emotions to live. He couldn't live off of pure emotions, nor could he survive from just negative ones. And it just so happened that he lived with a dragon that had both of those…

Then he tried to teleport back to the shop. When he didn't, he just thought that since his whole body hurt, he lost the concentration to teleport without the words. So he tried the spell with words, but that didn't work either. So, pained and weak, he trotted back to 'Vases and Maces', hoping very much that Firia managed to get to sleep. He didn't have the energy to dodge her and her mace tonight!

So now, here he was, hobbling up to Firia's front door, which was unlocked and unguarded. Xelloss, who was relieved that Firia wasn't up, locked the door and slumped onto his bed and went to sleep.

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Firia woke up the next morning feeling much better. The pain had dulled to a low throb, and she was hyper. Very hyper. So to get rid of her hyperness, she ran downstairs, completely oblivious of Xelloss, who was still asleep, got her mace, and ran into the backyard to practice.

Once again, she started off very slowly, in very simple poses, then started speeding up, her stances getting more and more complicated and complex. Soon she was switching between stances so fast that if a passerby would have looked at her, they would have thought her to be very funny-looking. Then, ever so slowly, she went slower and slower, getting into simple poses again, until she stopped, barely panting and not sweating like she usually was. Then she stretched and went at it again until she looked at her clock from the window.

"Omigod!" Firia squealed, "I'm late opening my shop!"

With a swift, extremely fast movement, Firia ran inside and threw her mace aside. Then she kicked Xelloss repeatedly until he woke up.

"Hm? Wha—Oh, hi Firia… whatcha doin'?" Xelloss mumbled.

"Get some breakfast going, I need to set up shop!" exclaimed Firia, running off behind the curtain now that Xelloss was awake. Xelloss waited to hear the usual click of a lock and squeal of a door before he got up out of his bed. Slowly he made his way towards the kitchen, wishing Firia would've let him sleep longer. It was a wonderful feeling, and made him feel much better. The pain from the night before went away much more quickly than if he didn't go to sleep, too.

Xelloss got out a pan, spatula, and his pink apron and set to work, cracking eggs and slicing bacon. It was a wonder how he could cook… it suddenly came naturally to him. He was really good at making extremely toxic and poisonous stuff, though. Things that could kill even the toughest and biggest things.

Then Xelloss squealed. He forgot to put his hair back! How DARE he forget that! The food might be toxicated now! Quickly Xelloss went into the bathroom, pulled out a hair tie, and put his hair back into a ponytail. Hopefully he didn't get any hair in the food! That would be bad. Now relieved, Xelloss set to work again, not having a single problem after that.

"Firia-chan! I've got the food!" Xelloss yelled out to Firia from the kitchen. Then, not bothering to wait for an answer, he took her plate and went through the curtains.

"OK! I--- Oh, thanks Xelloss! It helps to have you around!" Firia then hugged Xelloss and went back to having an animated conversation with a customer.

Xelloss turned back into the living room, blushing. He quickly went to the kitchen, cleaned everything, then went to his now-cold breakfast. With a very weak fireball spell he heated up the eggs and bacon, then slowly ate, absorbed in his thoughts.

Suddenly, he had an idea. A really good idea that would make Firia really happy. Quickly, he scooped up his plate, teleported in the shop, taking Firia's plate and leaving so quickly that he wasn't noticed at all except for "a draft when the windows aren't open". He washed those two dishes and walked briskly out to the shop, where Firia was waving to the customer she had previously had the conversation with.

"Firia-chan, are you going to need me today?" Xelloss asked hopefully.

"Aw, have you been called to your mistress?" Firia whined, "It'll be lonely."

"No, I just want to go out of the house for the day, maybe even out of town."

"Oh! OK then!" Firia said, bubbling with happiness. For some reason she didn't mind if he was out of town, as long as he wasn't with his mistress. Otherwise she'd be lonely.

"Thanks Firia-chan," with a deep bow, Xelloss teleported away.

"I wonder what he's doing?" Firia wondered aloud.

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Xelloss circled the fountain in the town square, feeding off of both negative and positive emotions he happened to come by. He had to think of a place where jewels were plentiful. The dragons defiantly had lots of them, considering at least all the priestesses were wearing them, but he doubted he would be welcome there. Then there were regular human mines, but the gems there would be too small. He might be able to come across a jewelry store that had that big of a gem, but he doubted it.

So, having that be his best bet, he started searching around for jewelry stores and asking them if they had really big gems. The ones they showed him were huge, ranging from one inch by one inch to several inches. But all of them were too small for what he was thinking.

Then it hit him so hard that he mentally stumbled. He knew a Mazoku that hid out among the humans who specialized in gems. He ran out to the edge of the town, then, when he knew he was out of sight, teleported to a town that would've taken months to walk to.

This town had an eerie feeling to it. Beggars lay everywhere, people walked silently and briskly, avoiding eye contact with everyone. The houses were small and cramped-looking, and all the buildings were rotting and looking like they were poorly cared for. The silence made Xelloss uneasy.

Deciding that right now was not the best time to teleport, Xelloss walked along the street, looking up at the store names. 'The Black Moon Inn'… 'Halberd's Staffs'… 'James's Grocery Store'… then finally, he came up to a sign that said 'A Mazoku's Treasures'. He walked inside the store.

Right away you could tell the whole place was enchanted. The store was bathed in a soft magenta glow, islands of cases gave off the scent of magic, and there was no sound, not even the scratch of a tree against the wood or a squeak of a mouse. Xelloss teleported up to the counter and rapped three times on the glass case in front of him.

"Yes yes, I'm coming. Hold on a second," said a very high pitched voice from behind the curtain. Xelloss obeyed and waited patiently for precisely two minutes, twenty three seconds and forty-one milliseconds (he counted) before the woman came out.

"Oh, hello Xelloss. I haven't seen you for a while," the woman said in a dream-like voice.

"Hello, Veronica, I was wanting to do something, and I think you're the only place that will… suit my needs," Xelloss said.

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"I was wondering…"

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AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA---- Hm. Yeah. Maybe I should tell you the reasons I didn't update as soon as I thought I would.

Can't avoid saying this, for it was absolutely true. For the first two weeks, I was lazy.

Then I got banned from the computer. Another week there.

OK, what's next? Lazy, got banned… now I say I will update during the weekend. My memory is not the greatest, and I forgot that we would be leaving Friday to go to a birthday party, and not come back until late Sunday. I thought I would have time to write it, then type it quickly after school Monday. Nuh-uh. No time there.

So, I worked on this yesterday, finished it today. Now I'm posting it. I will do the reviewers responses later… I just want to get this posted.

Wow. Xelloss with a ponytail. And squealing. Interesting. Nice visual memory I can keep.

**Responcer wonsers:**

**Hitteh Pitteh: **M-M-M-MIKI! What's with all the criticizing all of a sudden? Oh fine. I'll answer it. First of all… exaggerating 'de love. Uh… how do I explain this… OK, Xelloss was hungry that day. So, why not have fun to get the negative emotions he needed? Also, the restaurant was the place to explain another way how Xelloss changed. Eh? And blushin' and stuffs? Why, Xelloss's personality has changed, silly! He has the right to ask questions and blush, you know. And you know what love is, so you know if you were feeling it…. At least a little bit.

Wow. What DOES Xelloss smell like? Hm. Perfume and flowers--no. I dunno. It's kinda like I can tell whether the clothes I have are yours or Sierra's… just by smell. Yeah, I know it's weird.

Muafua! More blushing in this chapter! And thanks for the… _ahem_ lovely review.

**Cyberimp6:** _gasp_ A really nice review! It makes me all snuggley inside! _Ish snuggleful_

**Encyser: **Yus! Oi know how you feel! Oi think. Oi moite have lost the e-mail…. Yus, Oi did. Oh well.


	9. Golden Festival

Hi, I'm lazy! You've been waiting (or ditched the story) for a… whole month…? I hope it's less. But hey, if I get it going again, hopefully I'll get more reviews!

Disclaimer: Don't own. I do NOT want to do these disclaimers anymore, 'ya know. It hurts ;-;

Bound Souls: Golden Festival

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"If you can carve a huge jewel into a dragon?

Veronica raised her eyebrows.

"And why would Xelloss-sama want a jewel dragon?"

Xelloss put on his cheerful face and waggled his finger. "Sore wa, himitsu desu!"

Veronica sighed. "Alright, but I have to know the pose, color, and shape. And of course this would cost a lot."

"Yes yes, I have all of that," Xelloss replied, with a wave of his hand.

He grabbed his brown bag that he always kept with him and took out a picture of a golden dragon sleeping with its head and tail curled around it. The very tip of the tail went a small curve outward, disconnecting from the body, and around it was a pink ribbon. Its wings weren't folded, but lying fragilely to its side, opened, and its ears were perked up, listening for any sound that might bring danger. Coins were also taken out of the bag.

"Make this dragon's pose in your style- I know you are picky about beauty," Xelloss smiled.

He teleported away, leaving Veronica very confused and worried.

"I should report this to Juuou-sama right away," she whispered to herself, "But first to make the dragon. He did pay for it after all."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"That was awfully long, Xelloss."

Firia's worried voice rang through the kitchen as soon as Xelloss teleported back.

"Firia-chan, I'm not a child you know… I'm older than you!" Xelloss smirked.

"Being a Mazoku brings a lot more trouble. Plus you were gone from early morning 'till dusk. I was afraid something attacked you like it usually does when you're out."

"You're now just as much Mazoku as me, just as I am as much dragon as you. It's bound in our soul, 'ya know."

Firia went silent at that and continued making dinner. She hated when he was right!

"Why's Firia-chan making dinner by herself?" Xelloss asked, teleporting onto the counter and leaning over, his face a couple inches from her nose. She stumbled back, startled. But before she could say a retort, Xelloss was off the counter and on the floor, with his hair tied back, his pink apron on… and a spatula in his hand.

It took all of Firia's willpower to not laugh out loud, and Xelloss's blank look didn't make it any easier. So she ran past him, giggling, and said to put the spatula away. Then she started quickly giving instructions and cutting the vegetables and meat.

Xelloss got out a pot and spoon and started to fill the pot with water. He then placed it on the stove and waited for it to boil.

"So… where did you go today?" Firia asked while chopping up turkey. She had a feeling that it would be a secret.

"A jeweler," Xelloss draizely said.

"What were you doing in a jewelry shop?" Firia asked, almost positive that he wouldn't say.

"Sore wa, himitsu desu, curious Firia-chan. You'll find out soon enough."

Yep. She was right.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After about an hour, the soup was ready, and Firia put it on the table; along with two bowls, spoons and, of course, teacups and a teapot for… tea.

"Hm…" Firia hummed, looking at the tea supplies, "I don't feel like having tea right now. How about… milk?

Xelloss was surprised. Milk? Since when did Firia pass up tea for milk!

Despite his light confusion, Xelloss nodded and Firia replaced the tea sets with two clay cups that looked like small vases- in fact, they probably were. They were almost plain except for thin-lined, small designs, and were colored a dull… _yellow_.

Firia happily skipped back to the table with a jug of milk in her hand. She poured the white liquid into the cups, then grabbed the bowls, which were also yellow, and scooped two spoonfuls of soup into them.

They ate in silence for most of the dinner, but eventually Firia was thinking about where Xelloss went. Pestering him about it seemed like a good thing to do at the moment…

"Xelloss," Firia started, "could you please tell me where you went?"

"A friend of mine's jewelry store."

Wow. That was easy. Now maybe what he was doing there?

"Are they a Mazoku?"

"Maybe."

That meant… yes?

"What were you doing there?" Oops… maybe a little straitforward?

"Now now Firia-chan, don't think you can trick me into telling you!" Xelloss scolded.

"Well, I got tricky because of you!" Firia playfully snarled back.

"Hardly!"

Firia started laughing, with Xelloss looking at her, confused again. Firia was changing a ton since the soul binding… was he really half of what she was now?

After dinner, Firia really wanted to get going on a new vase style she had seen, so left the dishes unwashed. She could do them later! And confuse Xelloss once again. Boy, was that fun!

Xelloss tuned down a lot in the vase and mace making, which was fine with Firia, because she was still trying to sell the previous ones.

She managed to stay quiet for a while… but once again, she spoke up.

"Please… just a little hint?" She pleaded.

No answer.

"Xelloss?"

Still no answer.

"XELLOSS!"

"Hm? I'm sorry, I think I dazed off."

"No duh, stupid namagomi!"

Xelloss was untouched by her words.

"So, what did you say?"

Firia resaid her words, irritated. "Just a little hint?"

Xelloss turned back around and muttered above his breath, "Bad Firia."

Firia sulked. "Pleeeeeeeease?"

"One-word hint: Firia."

That left her puzzled. It had something to do with jewelry, the jeweler might be a Mazoku, which definitely meant trouble, and she was included in it. Wonderful.

Xelloss smirked. That really got her confused! She probably thought she was in some great danger because he was involved, but he was really just getting her a jewel dragon. In some ways, he REALLY wanted to tell Firia what he was planning, but this way was more fun.

"I'm not part of one of your…. plans…. am I?" Firia demanded.

"All will be told within a couple of days, Firia-chan," Xelloss answered, and stayed silent as Firia ranted, swore, and threw questions and objects at him. She didn't want to wait and see if she was going to be killed or something for a couple days.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"EH!" Firia's annoyed cry rang through the house, "He's gone AGAIN!"

Yes, he was gone once again, wandering through the streets of a town a couple hundred miles away. There was a festival in the town that day, and he was eyeing all the booths and happy people, no longer having to worry about getting sick as fast as he did before the binding.

He liked not having Firia near him to boss him around. He could actually do things, like walk instead of pausing every five seconds to go look at a booth. But the white side got to him after watching a happy couple hug, and got a huge longing to bring Firia here. She would love it. Looking at all the jewelry booths, playing the games…. she would like it here, just for today. Now if he could just persuade her to close shop and come.

Nope. He had to fight that urge. He wanted to have some time alone, and here he was, alone. He shouldn't get Firia.

Despite his efforts, suddenly, there he was, in Firia's shop, right in front of her. Firia jumped back, surprised, then when she gained her posture, lectured him.

"Xelloss! How many times do I have to tell you-"

"Firia-chan, there's a festival I thought you might like." Screw persuading her, he WOULD take her. Xelloss locked the door, shut the blinds and took Firia's wrist.

When he teleported, Firia gasped. It felt like she was being greatly compressed to the point of squishing for a split second, and then there she was, in a different town with all these different booths full of games and items. She looked around, clutching her stomach from queasiness, then looked up at Xelloss with a questioning look. She knew he hated festivals.

Xelloss shrugged and pushed Firia along with one arm. She looked up and saw a banner that said 'Golden Festival' and below it 'The Festival for Golden Fun'. She shook her head. What a lame festival this was going to be! The 'Golden Festival'… Why did Xelloss bring her here?

Then Firia actually looked around at the booths and shrieked. These were all jewelry shop booths, with the occasional food booth. After beaming up at Xelloss, Firia ran off to one of the booths, leaving Xelloss to toil after her.

Throughout the day, Xelloss realized one thing more and more. He was having fun. Fun chasing after Firia, who was purchasing all the jewelry she liked at a bargain price, having fun eating until he couldn't eat any more (which is surprising, because Mazoku don't have stomachs), and looking at and even purchasing a couple gems that he liked.

When it was nearing sundown, Firia looked at Xelloss's gems.

"Oh, you have gems, but nothing to mount them on! Let's get you clips for those."

Xelloss nodded, and followed Firia to the nearest booth. She scanned the shelf, then, finding what she needed, called a worker.

"I need that one… NO! THAT ONE!" Firia screamed when the worker picked the wrong clip. Xelloss hoped that he wouldn't try too big of a price for the clip, because it was getting late, they hadn't stopped to rest once, and Firia was in a semi-bad mood. Luckily, the worker didn't try anything sneaky; in fact, he agreed to haggle down to one gold for five silver clips. Firia turned around, smiling. She took Xelloss's gems and placed them carefully in the clips.

With one quick movement, Firia swiped Xelloss's cape and attached two of the five clips, one to each side of the cape, and snapped them together. She replaced the cape and held the rest of the gems.

One by one, she deposited power into each of the three clips and gems. Then she put one on each of his wrists, and the last she placed in his bag. Without saying a word, she pranced off to get something to eat. Xelloss stared after her, then followed.

After a quick meal, voices echoed from the town square. "Ladies and gentlemen! (Xelloss snickered at this) We are now going to play music for our young couples out there!" With that, slow music started playing.

Firia, while slightly blushing, took Xelloss's hand and ran towards the town square. When she got there, Firia stopped and looked around. There were a hundred people, almost all of them dancing with a couple, a few wandering around, looking for one.

"Excuse me Miss, would you like to dance?" a handsome stranger asked Firia, glancing momentarily up at Xelloss.

"No, if you haven't noticed, I already have a partner," Firia said without thinking, then, blushing fiercely, motioned to Xelloss.

"So sorry," the stranger bowed and walked off.

"You already have a partner, huh?" Xelloss smirked.

"S-sorry, I just hate jerks like that, who just come up to you and ask you to dance," Firia responded, stuttering a little. Xelloss changed his smirk to a smile and lightly bowed.

"Would you like to dance, Firia-chan?" Xelloss innocently asked.

Her reaction was better than he thought it would be. Her knees shook and she collapsed slightly, then nodded, too embarrassed to say yes. Xelloss took her to the middle of the square and Firia turned around.

'He must be planning something to humiliate me' Firia kept thinking to herself while she danced with Xelloss. However, no matter how much she fought to convince herself, she couldn't help but keep dancing.

Xelloss enjoyed dancing with Firia. His surroundings gave him a perfect meal: a couple was quarreling whether the girl could dance with a different boy, the love around him, and, of course, Firia's constant battle with her own feelings. Firia's emotions were the best of all of them, of course.

After a couple minutes, the song stopped, and another came on to replace the last, this one's beat faster, and more wild.

Firia loved this song. She broke away from Xelloss and started to dance by herself. Xelloss looked over her. She did know how to dance, and blended quite well with the surroundings… in fact, she over-blended. Quite a few men stopped watching their own girls and stared over at Firia, amazed with how graceful she was. Noticing this, Firia grabbed Xelloss, blushing once more for using him as 'cover up' and started dancing with him. The watching men were straitened out by their girls, who noticed them staring off at another girl.

After the song, Firia was breathing heavily, despite her greater endurance and strength. Xelloss was also breathing deeply, and took Firia away to a table nearby.

"This has been great, Xelloss! Thanks for taking me!" Firia exclaimed hugging Xelloss. It was Xelloss's turn to blush.

"Oh, it… it was nothing," he replied.

"Ugh… I'd absolutely love to stay longer, but I'm tired. Could you please take us home?"

Xelloss nodded grabbed Firia's wrist, then teleported back to the house. Firia was holding her stomach again.

"How can you stand the feeling?" she gasped.

"Just get used to it. Now I think it's time for you to get ready for bed, Firia-chan."

Firia nodded and ran upstairs to get to bed. Xelloss shook his head and sighed.

"It was fun and all," he whispered to himself, "But what the heck was I thinking?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! –Ah. I planned this as I went along (kinda) and I felt in the fluffy mood. - ;;; Sorry if it's a little sudden with fluff… but we all love fluff, don't we? OoO

Dang reviewers section…. I don't want to EMAIL everyone! _growl_


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